Happy Anniversary!
Happy 100th Anniversary!
The Rotary Club of Elizabeth will mark its first 100 years of service to the Greater Elizabeth community during a celebration set for Friday, April 21, at the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel. Founded on April 1, 1917, the Elizabeth Club was one of the first clubs in our District to charter and become a part of Rotary International. Its members have continued to serve people in and around Elizabeth for 100 years and counting!
Click on "Read more" for some club background, history, and an invite to help them celebrate.
Rotary started with the vision of one man — Paul Harris. The Chicago attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago in February 1905, so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of its members.
According to Art Lobdell, President of the Rotary Club of Elizabeth, “Just 12 years after the establishment of Rotary, 25 enterprising business and tradesmen formed the Rotary Club of Elizabeth, NJ in April, 1917. Over the years, thousands of men and women have served the Greater Elizabeth Community through the Elizabeth Club, which is in continuous operation to this day.”
The Rotary Club of Elizabeth has always played a central role in enhancing the welfare of its host town and residents, through the Great Depression, World Wars, and up to the current day. Challenge after challenge was met by Elizabeth Rotarians contributing their talents and resources to serve the community. In fact, the club's support of their local hospital was newsworthy enough to be highlighted in the January 1944 edition of The Rotarian magazine! (See images below)
Club secretary Kenneth Richuso said, “This was perhaps best exemplified by the establishment of a scholarship fund in 1982. Small at first, this effort benefitted from club fundraisers and a major bequest from a former Rotarian, Albert Davis, and his wife, Louise. Since 1986, the Albert & Louise Davis Scholarship Fund of the Rotary Club of Elizabeth has given a total of over $500,000 in scholarships to over 300 Elizabeth High School students. These students have gone on to careers in virtually every field.” Richuso serves as the President of the Club’s scholarship fund.
Working closely with the local school system, the Rotary Club of Elizabeth initiated a number of youth service clubs that instill the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” to youth of various ages. These include an Earlyact Club operated out of Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy, an Interact Club at Elizabeth High School, and a Rotaract Club at Kean University.
The first Intereact Club at Elizabeth High School was chartered in 1994 and shown in this photo. The club's officers are seated at the table with their adviser, Kelly McCracken-Villanueva, who still serves as adviser twenty-three years later! The officers (all three of whom received Club scholarships) went on to become a PhD in Education Policy, a psychiatrist, and a business executive with a BA in Economics from Dartmouth and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Quite a group!!
Another Club project benefitting young people is one that has gives free dictionaries each year to Third Grade students in both Elizabeth and Hillside. To date, over 20,000 dictionaries have been distributed.
Youth around the world have benefitted from Rotary International’s commitment to eliminate the scourge of polio from Planet Earth, according to Rotarian William Mealia. “The Rotary Club of Elizabeth enthusiastically joined this effort when it was announced in 1985, supplying funds and leadership talents to a variety of polio-eradication efforts. Just recently, two Elizabeth Rotarians travelled to Togo to personally administer the polio vaccine. Today, only a handful of polio cases are reported each year, usually in remote, war-torn areas. The end of polio is in sight.”
The Club has given many hundreds of thousands of dollars to worthy charitable endeavors both worldwide and in Elizabeth. Currently, the Club is fulfilling a three-year, $10,000 pledge to benefit the expansion of the Emergency Department at Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Another $10,000 gift was given recently by the Club to the “Where Angels Play” playground project.
In order to fulfill these charitable efforts, the Club stages several fundraising events including the annual Taste of the Towns, now called the Taste of Elizabeth. Held each year since 1993, these food-tasting events have raised over $400,000 and priceless good will.
Rotary Club President Lobdell concluded, “The Rotary Club of Elizabeth is well-equipped to continue its long-held tradition of ‘Service Above Self’ for many more years to come.”
For information on the Centennial Celebration Gala, please visit the Club’s website at ElizabethRotary.org, or call (908) 352-7300. Click here or on the image at left for their celebration flyer - Elizabeth Rotary 100th Invitation.
Click on any image below to open and read.
